What is age-related macular degeneration?

Would you rather lose your eyesight or a limb? How about giving up 10 years of your life in exchange for your eyesight?

If you would rather lose a limb or 10 years of your life than go blind, you are not alone.

A recent international survey by eye healthcare company Bausch + Lomb found that two-thirds of the 11,000 respondents from 11 countries around the world would rather shorten their lives by 10 years than to lose their eyesight.

The results of the survey called Barometer of Global Eye Health announced last month, also revealed that 68 per cent preferred to lose their limbs rather than their sight, while 78 per cent would rather give up their hearing, and 79 per cent, their sense of taste.

Despite that, the survey found that less than one-third of respondents take the necessary steps to preserve their eyesight, with only 21 per cent having gone for regular eye examinations over the past five years.

And the reason given by 65 per cent of those respondents who do not examine their eyes regularly for not going for these check-ups is that they did not have any eye symptoms.

However, this is a dangerous line of reasoning, as many eye diseases can develop quite extensively without any obvious symptoms.

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